On a recent evening, I headed to the new UFC Gym in Lower Manhattan to try out a class. Mixed martial arts, known as M.M.A., blends over a dozen combat sports, including boxing, kickboxing and Brazilian jujitsu. The gym also offers these disciplines individually, in classes that focus on either technique or conditioning. The one I attended featured conditioning.

Each of about 20 students (with an even split of men and women) stood near one of the large black punching bags hanging in rows from red scaffolding. The teacher, Ramzey Prentiss, 31, who is also an owner, started out with a warm-up that included jumping jacks, squats, imaginary rope jumping, push-ups and shadowboxing. Then we moved on to the second part of class, bag work.

“Put those gloves on and get your hands up!” Mr. Prentiss bellowed above the loud, high-energy music. For the next 30 minutes, he had us practice combinations on the bags in a way similar to that of a fitness boxing class I took last year. The difference was the much broader range of moves.

One routine ran the gamut, with a double jab and then an elbow strike, followed by a roundhouse kick and a knee strike. We dropped into a “sprawl” position as defense against a double-leg takedown, then sprang right back up, fists flying. We also practiced kicking the bag from the floor before standing to throw another kick and two punches. In front of me, a young woman wearing a shirt that said, “Fight me,” punched, kicked, elbowed and kneed her bag so fiercely that I did not want to take her up on her dare.

In boot camp fashion, Mr. Prentiss worked in bursts of conditioning, ordering us to do squats, push-ups, burpees or mountain climbers.

Later, we revisited these exercises with greater intensity in the third and final leg of the 60-minute class, which Mr. Prentiss said would burn 800 to 1,000 calories. Completely worn out, I gave it one last push on the home stretch as we did crunches and leg raises that elicited a fair amount of groaning.

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Afterward, Mr. Prentiss, who has competed in amateur boxing, Thai kickboxing and Brazilian jujitsu, explained that because mixed martial arts is a full-body sport, he had chosen the conditioning regimen accordingly. My full-body soreness for the next few days was a testament to that.

Josh Eldridge, 25, who works in artist management and lives nearby, recalled how tough it was when he first showed up right after the gym opened in April.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God — I’m dying,’ ” he said. “It’s one of the most grueling hours that you can spend.” Now he is in “100 times better shape,” he said. He visits the gym six days a week and also takes the technique-focused class, which includes sparring and grappling, as well as private lessons.

Another participant, Brittany Miller, a 28-year-old social media executive who lives on the Upper East Side, said she enjoyed taking out her irritations on the bag, which leaves her feeling calm. Her face was bright red from the exertion.

“I’ve never actually wanted to go to the gym,” she said. “But this class makes me come back, because I want to keep challenging myself.”